We often ignore the journey just to arrive at the destination. All in the name of progress and convenience, we walk, drive, talk and think too fast. This is not good for our mental health and the ability to make good decisions. We think we are moving forward but it is a big step going backward. There is little virtue in rushing at a frantic pace.

As Mac Davis once sang, You’ve got to stop and smell the roses.” Or maybe a tad beyond Davis’ peaceful suggestion, consider what noted author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.”

Technology including cell phones, social media and the presence of 24/7 news has plugged us in but ultimately tuned us out from all that there is to see and do in the world. We lose the beauty of something called the process — that is, the ability to enjoy the simple things in life along the way.

Consider tuning in to a sunrise or sunset, giving big hugs to a loved one or someone in need, planting a garden, singing a simple song. Picture yourself taking a long walk by a lake, strolling the ocean beach or fishing by the pond. Take a deep breath and show gratitude on a daily basis. Let yourself go to laughter the way you did unconditionally as a child. Ask someone how they are doing and then spend time listening instead of moving on to your next destination. Be connected with the power of prayer.

Enjoying the process ultimately fosters progress as we can focus on the present moment, thus leading us to arrive healthfully to the future instead of sprinting toward it. Those seemingly mundane moments could be the very things we look back on with a smile. Enjoy that walk, swim, the sweet smell of the rain, the precious sounds of silence. Surround yourself with positive people with no agenda other than to love and appreciate you. This will give you pause for reflect and healthfully slow you down to understand the most important things in life.

Life is too precious to have any lost years. Spending time with the people and places that matter most is the cure.

Consider what Jerome Segal states in Graceful Simplicity…

“The time we give to things reflects our values. When everything is rushed, then everything has been devalued . . . To live gracefully is to live within flowing rhythms at a human pace . . . There is time to pay respect to the value of what you do, to the worth of those you care for, and to the possessions you own. Gracefulness is not possible when life is frenetic, when we are harried, or suffer from overload, time crunch, and a vast multiplicity of commitments and pressures.”

Happiness is… indeed enjoying the simple things in life.

Please save the graphic below on Pinterest…